22 Jump Street review

Genre: Comedy, Action, Buddy-Cop
Starring: Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Peter Stormare, Ice Cube, Amber Stevens, Wyatt Russell, Nick Offerman.
Year Of Release: 2014
Certificate: 15 (UK)
Runtime: 112 Minutes
Director: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Synopsis: "After making their way through high school (twice), big changes are in store for officers Schmidt and Jenko when they go deep undercover at a local college." IMDB

Not going to jump on the hype, I will be straight up honest none of the trailers done it for me, just felt like recycled jokes from the first and an unneeded sequel. So now you know my thoughts going in, here is my "review" I guess.

So here we are round two in a franchise, a franchise in my eyes I couldn't see progressing after the first, not that I didn't enjoy the first it was a surprisingly enjoyable watch so I was worried about the second. You know sequels usually don't live up and Comedy sequels in recent years have been extremely poor "The Hangover Part II & III" spring to mind quicker than you can say "Why was Justin Bartha even in it?". There it is a sequel to a reboot of a TV Series, wow who'd have thought it ha. The first was a shockingly good success, which now a days means they have to make a sequel.

It is a very stupid concept to stick to your formula to an exact, however the guys behind the success of 21 decided to stick with it even with their bigger budget, however the big budget didn't get to their heads they stayed true to their nob gags, slapstick and the fact Jenko (Tatum) is a few bullets short of a full clip. All we truly care about with a film like this is over the top action, the Comedy that borders on idiotic and enjoyable characters, so three ticks there.

However, plot is one of the last things you care about when watching a film of this calibre. That being said here is a brief outline without giving away to much. The film revolves around Jenko and Schmidt trying to track down the latest drug craze sweeping the school scene (of wait we're in college now) WHY-FHY, huge over lying element is the dealer may be Jenko's new best bud Zook (Russell). This time around we get to see Jenko in his element like, while Schmidt is swimming in the deep waters fearing their border line homoerotic bromance is over.

Tatum and Hill have a brilliant on screen relationship, from the get go their on screen presence is as good as it was in 21 along with a barrage of self-referential humour from Jenko joking about protecting the White House to pretty much EVERYTHING Deputy Chief Hardy (Offerman) says. However, Tatum and Hill aren't the only ones on top of their game in the film, every scene that Ice Cube has playing Captain Dickson he steals and makes his own, so many times do you forget how insanely funny his character is when he gets angry and this time around he is even angrier.

Overall, the film is so much better than I expected I went in expecting one or two laughs here or there boy was I wrong I laughed pretty much the whole way through. You will be in pain from pure laughter, however I do have one complaint and that is the film is a bit too long, just as you finally feel like it's dragging there is a truly incredible credits scene that will make the dragging feeling disappear in an instance. I've seen some fellow reviewers saying "bigger AND better" however, in my honest opinion, bigger doesn't always mean better, they should be saying "bigger yet equally as funny".

7/10

Ride Along 2014 review

Genre: Comedy, Action, Buddy Cop,
Starring: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Laurence Fishburne, Tike Sumpter, John Leguizamo, Bryan Callen, Bruce McGill,
Year Of Release: 2014
Certificate: 12A (UK)
Runtime: 99 minutes
Director: Tim Story

Synopsis: Fast-talking security guard Ben joins his cop brother-in-law James on a 24-hour patrol of Atlanta in order to prove himself worthy of marrying Angela, James' sister. IMDB

Whenever I see either of these guys attached to a project I get kind of excited, been a huge Ice Cube fan since way back "Boyz N The Hood" is an all time favourite of mine. As for Hart he is consistently funny in his films.

Let me just go on the record an say don't go into this film expecting something great, this is far from a great film, it is even far from a great Comedy film. However, it is a very fun and enjoyable watch. 

Ben Barber (Hart) starts off as a high school security guard with an unhealthy obsession for shooting games with aspirations of becoming a cop. He lives in an incredible apartment with his fiancée Angela (Tika Sumpter) and from the get go you know these two are insanely in love with each other. The main stumbling block for this relationship is Angela's brother, who is more like a father to her James (Ice Cube) and it is made abundantly clear he does not like Ben one bit!

Which leads us to the juicy part of the story, Ben trying to prove himself worthy enough to be Angela's husband, by joining the Atlanta PD. James reluctantly invites Ben for a ride along, which ends up being filled to the brim with crimes James has asked to be given to drive Ben away from being a cop. During the ride along they come across a case James has been working for the past few years trying to take down crime lord Omar (Fishbourne). Leading to the climax of the film which leaves James and Ben in a lot more trouble than expected, resulting in James' opinion of the little man changing drastically.

This film is no different to any of the other Buddy Cop/Comedies you have seen or are likely to see in the coming years, they are all pretty similar, which isn't me being judgemental just speaking the truth. If you look back to how Eddie Murphy made a name for himself it was back in the 1980's when he made "48 hrs" which is credited as the first buddy cop film. Some people complain that now-a-days all these films are just copies of copies of copies, which to an extent are true, but as the old adage goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

The best part of this film is Kevin Harts comedic style of acting, I think without Hart this film would have been pretty poor. I may get slated for this opinion, however, I will go on record and say that I think Hart has the talent to be considered up their with Martin Lawrence and maybe even Eddie Murphy in their prime.

Overall the film is a pretty fun watch, not too different to the past Buddy Comedies we have seen, and I will say I was very happy with the little use of the N word. Buddy Comedy films have never been known for their great plots or their unexpected twists, so don't expect that with this flick. Just sit down and enjoy a fun film full of laughs.

7/10

Ice Cube and Kevin Hart "Ride Along" in new trailer

I have always been a fan of Ice Cube so when I heard he was making another Comedy film I was looking forward to it then heard Kevin Hart that didn't put me off at all. Check out the trailer for their upcoming film releasing early next year.

"22 Jump Street" update

Most of the fans of Tatum, Cube and Hill will more than likely already know that these guys are back for the sequel, now we have official confirmation these 3 are back for the film due out next Summer. Here is an extract from the interview with directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord;

“[The undercover program] moves across the street,” Lord said. “They got more money for the Jump Street program, and they could have an even cooler office with flat screens. It’s a different abandoned church, across the street from the first abandoned church, but way nicer. Jenko and Schmidt are going to college, and we’re delving deeper into their relationship. As the first one was them getting together, this is their marriage.”

One big talking point coming out of the first movie was, of course, Depp’s surprise cameo at the end, and for “22 Jump Street,” the directors say you should expect a comparable surprise. “We’re certainly exploring options, trying to figure out what would be as fun as that,” Lord said. “It’s awesome to have in your hip pocket this amazing surprise, so we’re hoping to find a way, whether it’s some amazing casting thing or some cool story surprise. We’re trying to make it feel as fresh as the first one.”

"21 Jump Street" official poster

This new poster for "21 Jump Street" is pretty cool showing off Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum touting some gun play. This film in my eyes looks pretty hilarious, will give the audience a good few laughs, but I'm guessing the original fans of the show from the 80's which was more crime/police procedural I believe.